Document Type : Letter to Editor
Author
Education Development Centre, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran
Abstract
.Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) have transformed health professions education by focusing on learners’ readiness to perform clinical tasks independently. However, as much emphasis is placed on entrusting learners, the equally critical question arises: can we confidently entrust medical teachers—the mentors of future health professionals—with fostering competence, professionalism, and ethical practice? This paper explores the emerging concept of “Entrustable Medical Teachers” (EMT), advocating for systematic frameworks to assess and certify medical teachers’ educational competencies beyond clinical expertise.
Teaching in health professions requires specialized skills such as curriculum design, learner assessment, feedback delivery, and educational leadership. Without clear standards and ongoing evaluation, the quality and effectiveness of mentorship may be compromised, potentially impacting learner progression and patient safety. Recent developments in EPAs frameworks tailored for medical educators identify core teaching activities that institutions can use to ensure faculty competence and accountability.
Embedding entrustability in faculty development represents a paradigm shift from traditional informal teaching models towards rigorous, competency-based preparation and continuous professional growth. This approach aligns with modern educational trends emphasizing transparency, quality assurance, and cultural accountability in training environments.
EMT is not only about clinical knowledge transmission but also about cultivating ethical, professional role models who guide learners safely and effectively. Recognizing and validating the entrustability of medical teachers provides a foundation to enhance educational outcomes and, ultimately, patient care.
This paper calls for the integration of EMT frameworks into faculty development, ensuring that those who educate future health professionals are as rigorously prepared and trusted as the learners they supervise.
Highlights
Keywords
Dear Editor
Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) have reshaped the evaluation of health professions trainees by focusing on their readiness to perform clinical tasks ( 1 , 2 ). This shift raises a crucial question: Can medical teachers—the mentors responsible for shaping future health professionals—be equally entrusted with the responsibility of guiding learners toward becoming competent, ethical, and skilled practitioners? Although extensive attention has been devoted to entrusting learners, the concept of entrusting medical teachers remains underexplored. Addressing this gap is vital to ensure the quality and safety of health professions education.
The concept of entrusting medical teachers is nascent yet imperative to the integrity of health professions education. Traditionally, teaching competence has been assumed based on credentials and clinical expertise. However, effective teaching requires a distinct set of competencies beyond clinical knowledge, including curriculum design, learner assessment, educational leadership, and facilitation ( 3 ). In the absence of clear standards and validated measures of teaching competency, the risk is that learners may not receive the structured, adaptive, and evidence-based mentorship necessary for safe progression in training and professional identity formation ( 4 ).
Recently, frameworks for EPAs tailored to medical teachers have emerged ( 3 , 5 ), delineating core activities such as creating supportive learning environments, delivering feedback, assessing learner competence, and fostering professional development. By operationalizing these EPAs, institutions can assess, certify, and continuously advance medical teachers’ capabilities, ensuring they uphold their critical role reliably and ethically.
This approach aligns with the broader movement toward competency-based education, ongoing professional development, and accountability. Just as learners need safe, supervised progression toward autonomy, teachers require ongoing evaluation and growth opportunities to meet evolving educational challenges and technologies ( 6 ). Entrustment decisions about teachers not only reinforce institutional and public trust but also indirectly enhance patient safety via improved educational outcomes.
Moreover, placing entrustability at the heart of faculty development challenges the outdated model of “see one, do one, teach one.” It demands rigorous training, assessment, and feedback for teachers, acknowledging teaching as a specialized professional activity that requires continuous refinement ( 6 ). This commitment ultimately not only benefits teachers but profoundly shapes learners’ competence, confidence, and ethical grounding—qualities essential for high-quality patient care.
From a parental or societal viewpoint, entrusting a loved one to a medical teacher extends beyond clinical instruction. It is entrusting them to a scaffolded educational experience, a role model who embodies professionalism and humanity in healthcare, and a guardian of safe, competent practice. Recognizing and certifying medical teachers' entrustability is, therefore, not only an educational imperative but also a safeguard for the integrity of the entire continuum of health professions education ( 3 ).
In conclusion, the concept of the "entrustable medical teacher" not only provides a novel framework to ensure educational quality but also establishes a solid foundation for enhancing accountability and professionalism in medical education. Through systematic framework development and ongoing assessments, medical teachers can reach the same standards of preparedness and accountability expected of them. This approach represents a crucial step toward safeguarding public health by ensuring the next generation of health professionals is educated under the guidance of competent, ethical, and trustworthy teachers. Importantly, it should be viewed not merely as a restatement of past ideas but as a call to action for implementing meaningful structural reforms in medical education.
Conflict of Interest
The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Authors’ contribution
The article was written only by S.M.
Declaration of AI
No artificial intelligence (AI) tools were used.
References
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